'Let’s go dress him like the witch of Brentford’

— Act 4, Scene 2

The Merry Wives of Windsor is the only comedy that Shakespeare set in his native land. Drawing influences from British 1930s fashion, music and dance, this production celebrates women, the power and beauty of nature, and with it's witty mix of verbal and physical humour, rejoices in a tradition that reaches right down to the contemporary English sitcom. Directed by Elle While (Hamlet, As You Like It), this production stars Olivier Award-nominated Bryony Hannah (Call the Midwife, The Children’s Hour) as Mistress Ford, Sarah Finigan (Suffragette, Upstart Crow, Globe on Tour) as Mistress Page, and Pearce Quigley (Detectorists, Hamlet, As You Like It) as Falstaff. The Windsor Locals appear courtesy of Soldiers’ Arts Academy, London Bubble and Clean Break.

Synopsis

Double-meanings, disguises and dirty laundry abound as Sir John Falstaff sets about improving his financial situation by wooing Mistress Page and Mistress Ford. But the ‘Merry Wives’ quickly cotton on to his tricks and decide to have a bit of fun of their own at Falstaff’s expense…

Cast

Sir Hugh Evans/Nym
Hedydd Dylan

Mistress Page
Sarah Finigan

Mistress Ford
Bryony Hannah

Doctor Caius/Pistol
Richard Katz

Abraham Slender/Robin
Joshua Lacey

George Page
Forbes Masson

Host/Peter Simple
Anne Odeke

Frank Ford
Jude Owusu

Sir John Falstaff
Pearce Quigley

Mistress Quickly
Anita Reynolds

Anne Page/ John Rugby
Boadicea Ricketts

Robert Shallow
Dickon Tyrrell

The Windsor Locals

Fenton/Bardolph
Zach Wyatt

Creatives

Writer
William Shakespeare

Globe Associate - Text
Giles Block

Voice
Alison Bomber

Associate Dramaturg
Nicole Charles

Associate Choreographer
Jess Clough-MacRae

Designer
Charlie Cridlan

Fight Director
Philip d'Orléans

Accent Coach
Hazel Holder

Associate Director
Martin Leonard

Globe Associate - Movement
Glynn MacDonald

Choreographer
Sasha Milavic Davies

Composer
Frank Moon

Production Manager
Tariq Rifaat


Costume Supervisor
Laura Rushton

Deputy Text Associate
Christine Schmidle

Director
Elle While